instead of complaining here i have taken the opportunity to contact management of TTS and queried the frustrating sp development and its effects on shareholders here is the reply of today, pls consider.
Thankyou for taking the time to raise your concerns on our web site. Cartainly the share price has not performed as we would have liked, but unfortunately we do not control the share price. There are a couple of explanations however why this has been the case: Tatts is seen by many as a defensive stock with good dividend yield and some growth opportunities. When the GFC hit, the typical cyclical stocks such as in the resources and banking sectors, were hit the hardest. CBA for example went from a high over $60 to around $25. During that period of decline, many big investors were looking for a safer haven to invest their funds, which meant our price held fairly well when others declined. The reverse happens when investors decide that the market has turned. Having lost money during the down turn there is a fear of missing the recovery, so many sold out of the safe haven stocks to invest back into the cyclical stocks. As a result, we did not have the massive decline seen by other stocks as a result of GFC, and conversely also do not have the huge recovery as some have recently experienced. We have also not had to raise equity like so many other companies, so have not diluted our earnings per share. When the Victorian Government announced its decision on the pokies environment post 2012, our shares declined around 40%. Whilst the business change does not occur until 2012, it did raise concerns for some investors about how we will replace the pokies profits. There has been a fair amount of uncertainty in the market about the wagering industry and the impact of corporate bookies, race fields fees, exclusivity, etc., which can be of concern for some investors. From our perspective we do aim to highlight the positive aspects of our business: Tatts has a very strong balance sheet with significant capacity to grow; We are a high yield stock, and consistently payout over 90% of profits as dividends; We have organic and acquisition growth opportunities ahead of us; We believe we are well placed to benefit from any changes that occur within the wagering industry; Also, as highlighted in the attached slide from our AGM, our total shareholder return (which is based on share price and dividends paid) has actually performed well over the 3 year period compared to our peers and the ASX200. We are certainly focussed on seeking to continue to improve this in the years ahead.
TTS Price at posting:
$2.31 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
